Introduction: The Enduring Importance of Education

An introduction to a special journal issue on comparative educational perspectives from around the world (see related abstracts). Contributors explore how current developments in education relate to contemporary theory via a diversity of subject matter & its geographic character, direct engagement with theoretical issues, & comparative content. Research strategies include quantitative cross-national comparisons & examinations of the role of the state as facilitator or inhibitor of educational development. Topics are focused on a variety of factors, eg, gender, the International Monetary Fund, the efficacy of vocational schools, & ethnographic approaches to state-family relations in education strategy. 3 References. J. Cowie